


Smile

by Burgie



Category: Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 10:17:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9319304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Steven tries to get Lapis to smile again after she's freed from Malachite.





	

“Lapis Lazuli!”

“Mm?” Lapis looked up at the half-gem who’d called her name, her eyes half-lidded as they permanently were these days.

“I’m going to get you to smile again!” Steven declared with a grin.

“Why?” asked Lapis. “There’s nothing to smile about. Home isn’t home anymore. I went there. I was imprisoned. Again. And then, the second I got free, Jasper imprisoned me in that fusion. And then I had to imprison myself.” She looked down at her clenched fists, remembering the power she’d had to hold over the ocean. The power that she was still recovering from now.

“Well, yeah, that was awful,” said Steven. “But bad stuff happens to everyone. You can’t let it get you down.” Lapis sighed. He really didn’t understand. He was still so naïve. Even after the fight with Peridot and Jasper. Even after the fight with Malachite. He just never seemed to lose that starry-eyed optimism. She’d been like that once. How stupid of her.

“Oh, really? And I’m sure the other gems are just little rays of sunshine all the time too,” said Lapis.

“Well, no. Not all the time,” said Steven. “I get sad because I can’t be my mum. Dad gets sad because he misses mum. So does Pearl. Amethyst gets sad talking about her past. And Garnet… well, I guess she gets sad when she sees two people being made fun of for loving each other. But she mostly shows it as anger.”

“Most of that was a long time ago, Steven,” said Lapis. “They’ve had time to get over it. I’ve only been free for a few weeks.”

“Aww, c’mon, what happened to that funny Lapis who was making fart jokes with me at Mayor Dewey’s beach thing?” asked Steven.

“She died at the bottom of your ocean,” said Lapis, her voice deadpan. Steven blinked at her.

“O-kay,” said Steven. “Well, I’m still not giving up on you, Lapis! We’re gonna get a smile out of you yet.”

“We?” Lapis repeated, now a little more alert at the possibility of one of the gems interfering with her again.

“Mm-hm!” Steven nodded proudly. He drew in breath to call her. Oh no. Please no. Not her. Anyone but- “Amethyst!”

And just like that, the small purple gem was standing next to Steven, grinning with a fiendish glint in her eyes. Lapis groaned.

Somehow, after much pleading and some light threats, the two smaller gems managed to get Lapis to trail along after them. They held her by the hands, but Lapis still dragged her feet. Of course, the wings currently spraying them with water could easily take her away from them, but it just wasn’t worth the effort. They’d just drag her back out. No matter where she went. Steven was stubborn, and Amethyst just liked to cause trouble.

“What are we doing here?” asked Lapis, looking up at the sign.

“It’s a joke shop,” said Steven. A small human walked out of the store, looking around shiftily and carrying something in a bag clutched to his chest. Steven grinned at him, though, and waved. “Hey, Onion!” The smaller boy squinted his eyes at Steven, made an ‘I’m watching you’ motion, and slowly backed away, never taking his eyes off Steven.

“Steven, I have no idea what you see in that kid,” said Amethyst.

“Eh, Onion’s cool,” said Steven with a shrug. Lapis was confused, but Steven took the opportunity to pull her inside the joke store. Now she was even more confused. Silly putty in small toilets, itching powder, fake wounds, fake blood, fake vomit, containers of nuts… well, she didn’t share Pearl’s aversion to eating, and she did like the sound of nuts.

“Steven, could I have those?” asked Lapis, pointing to the nuts.

“Oh, I’ll get them for you,” said Amethyst. Lapis had no idea why the two were grinning. They snickered when she took the container, and she frowned in confusion.

“What’s so funny?” asked Lapis.

“Oh, nothing,” said Amethyst. They snickered some more. Lapis shrugged and popped the lid off the container of nuts, already anticipating the smell and taste.

What she wasn’t anticipating was a bunch of paper snakes jumping out at her. Lapis yelped and jumped away, dropping the container. Her heart pounded as she remembered the sea snakes that had tried to distract her from Malachite. It had been one of Jasper’s trickier tricks, she was sure. She could just hear the sound of Steven and Amethyst’s laughter over the pounding of her own heart. Her blood boiled.

“What are you two laughing at?” she snapped at them. “Is fear funny to you?” The pipes in the building creaked as she called the water towards her in her anger.

“You should’ve seen your face!” Amethyst cackled. Lapis glared at her.

“Wait, Lapis, stop! It was just a joke!” said Steven.

“Not to me, Steven!” Lapis snapped at him.

“Okay, jeez, sorry,” said Amethyst. Lapis shot another glare at her, then stormed outside, unaware of the trail of water she left behind her.

Steven and Amethyst found her perched on top of the joke shop, sitting with her arms crossed and her chin resting on her knees.

“C’mon, Lapis, it’s okay. We can just try something else,” said Steven.

“I don’t want to smile, Steven,” said Lapis.

“Well, too bad, if Steven wants something, he gets it,” said Amethyst. “Every time. And without using violence. He’s scary like that.”

“You’re not going to give up, are you?” asked Lapis. Steven shook his head, so Lapis sighed and allowed the two to lead her towards another building. A cinema, according to the sign.

“You pick the movie, I’ll get the snacks,” said Amethyst.

“You do this every time, and then you eat all the snacks and I don’t get any,” said Steven.

“Eh, true,” said Amethyst with a shrug, and headed for the concession stand. The young man there looked frightened.

“Hmm, now let’s see,” said Steven, looking up at the movie posters. “I know, we’ll go see this one!”

“The Prankening?” said Lapis, reading the title. It sounded strange.

“Yep, we’ll get three tickets to that,” said Steven. “Do you want anything to eat?”

“Maybe some actual nuts?” asked Lapis.

The movie was strange. People played tricks on other people, then laughed at the other person’s expense. Lapis tried not to connect it to her own previous situation, instead focusing on eating her nuts. They tasted nice, at least.

“So, what’d you think?” asked Steven when the movie was over. Lapis had seen him and Amethyst laughing, but she hadn’t even smiled.

“The nuts were delicious,” said Lapis. Steven sagged, his face falling.

“Aww, why won’t you laugh?” asked Steven.

“I’m sorry, Steven, I just don’t feel like it,” said Lapis.

“Here,” said Steven, doing something with his phone. “Look at this.” A video showed Amethyst sneaking up behind Pearl meditating, then dumping a bucket of water over her. Pearl squawked in surprise, flailed, fell, and then shouted at Amethyst as she climbed out of the water.

“How is that funny?” asked Lapis. “I can attack people like that.”

“Jeez, Lapis, you could just pretend,” said Amethyst as Steven walked away sadly.

“He’d know,” said Lapis. She owed him a real smile. But she just couldn’t do it.

Lapis returned to the temple with Steven and Amethyst, wanting to make it up to her friend for failing to even smile for him.

“I guess you’ll just never smile again,” said Steven sadly as they sat on the floor in front of the couch with a tablet computer between them. “I’m sorry, Lapis. I failed you.” He looked down sadly.

And then, it happened. Garnet sat down on a couch cushion, and a farting noise emanated from it. Lapis smiled, and then she laughed. And then, she couldn’t stop laughing.

“Y-your face,” she stammered between bouts of laughter. Garnet’s cheeks had turned a barely-visible shade darker, but she chuckled as she held up the deflated whoopee cushion.

“How did you not see that?” Amethyst cackled.

“I don’t know,” said Garnet. 

Deep down in Garnet’s consciousness, Sapphire smiled. Pranks were fun.


End file.
